Q. One of the things that absolutely shocked the anthropologists about Gobeckli Tepe in Turkey is that here was evidence of religion at a high place, which dated possibly even to 10,000 B.C. and preceded village life and sustained agriculture. The German book on the site is called ‘The First Temple’. The usual secular anthropology theory was that religion came along after village life and sedentary existence due to agriculture having begun. This site suggests the reverse. That human beings were practicing religion before organized civilization. This is why I earlier asked you about evidence of religion amongst all those human-like creatures. Is there any? If not why should we think they had the capacity for relationship with God or their gods made possible by being ‘in the image and likeness’?
A. Thank you for sharing that! It is difficult to find archaeological signatures of religious belief apart from the construction of temples, which prehistoric man could not build. But the evidence for ritual burial of the dead among Neanderthals and the strange constructions in Bruniquel Cave, which could have served as altars, is at least consistent with primitive religious beliefs. The beautiful cave paintings could also have served some sort of religious function for the hunters. This is an area which invites further exploration.
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